Double P2 In GB4 For Juncos At Silverstone GP And Maiden GB3 Podium For Shin
Hillspeed’s Leandro Juncos put together the best GB4 Championship partnered by the BRDC event of his maiden season at Silverstone GP Circuit over the weekend, 2nd/3rd August, with a double podium in rounds 14 and 15 as team-mate Daniel Guinchard maintained his place at the top of the points table.
Argentine-American driver Juncos, easily one of the most spectacular racers in GB4 this season, charged to a sixth place finish in round 13 on Saturday – after a tough qualifying – and then took second in each of Sunday’s races, with sensational drives, to close to within just five points of the series top five.
Guinchard, who had a mountain to climb after a ring terminal snapped in qualifying and meant he didn’t set a representative time, carved through to 11th place in race one, 11th again in race two and then a remarkable sixth place in a rain-hit race three after a superb tyre change pit-stop by the Hillspeed crew.
The Markham Vale team’s GB3 Championship partnered by the BRDC team was also in action with two new faces to Hillspeed’s line-up, Mercedes F1 Junior Yuanpu Cui and series returnee Michael Shin, who each impressed.
Chinese racer Cui was quick in qualifying, sixth and fifth in the two sessions, and he went on to finish seventh, eighth and 11th in the three contests. Shin improved on 11th in round 13 to claim his maiden GB3 podium with a superb drive to third in round 14. The South Korean then added another top 10 in round 15.
Impressive racing from Juncos and Guinchard at Silverstone
Juncos was the quickest of the Hillspeed GB4 pairing in qualifying on Saturday morning, less than 0.4 seconds shy of the round 13 front row but having to settle for eighth on the grid. Guinchard was also inside the top 10 into the closing stages, but the ring terminal issue sapped all power and required a pit visit with just three minutes to go. He ended up a frustrating 17th, albeit still within 0.8 seconds of pole.
At the start of round 13 Juncos launched well and moved up into seventh place within the first couple of corners, before then taking sixth on the inside at Club. With so little to choose between the lead racers, no additional gains were possible and at the flag on lap eight Juncos was just 1.5 seconds shy of the podium.
From row nine Guinchard had a lot to do, particularly with a rival’s expired car on the original formation lap meaning a delay and a reduced time limit of just 16 minutes. Making a strong start, he gained three places on lap one alone, two more on the second tour and then closed on the top 10, taking 11th on lap six at Becketts. At the flag, he was a mere 0.3 seconds shy of the top 10 – a mighty recovery.
Rain arrived as the cars formed up on the grid for round 14 on Sunday, and all but two drivers pitted for treaded Pirellis. Hillspeed’s pit crew fully capitalised and turned around Juncos and Guinchard brilliantly, with the former joining the race seventh and Guinchard 12th – having been set to start 14th and 21st.
The Safety Car was required on lap five and when racing resumed there was time for just one final lap. Juncos, who had climbed to fourth before the cessation, almost instantly grabbed third at Copse and after piling pressure on to the car ahead he sliced past on the inside at Brooklands with a fantastic move to seal a sensational second place. Guinchard ended the race 11th, just 0.2 seconds shy of the top 10.
Round 15 produced another star showing from Juncos and an incredible drive through the order from Guinchard to protect his points lead. The start was delayed due to the second placed starter stopping on the green flag lap, so Juncos was an effective fourth on the grid and he immediately attacked for third – getting the place around the outside at Stowe and sensationally taking second at Abbey.
Juncos pressured the leader throughout, the gap ebbing and flowing as he had to also keep an eye on the podium battles behind. One minute looking likely to make a bid for the lead, the next time around he was having to fend off third but he maintained second and just missed fastest lap by 0.050s.
Guinchard produced a remarkable first lap, already into the top 10 from 17th on the grid midway through he then gained four more places as he charged into the top six before the start of lap two. After closing on the train of five cars ahead, the GB4 series leader ultimately ended the race sixth.
Strong Hillspeed debuts for Shin and Cui in GB3
Hillspeed newcomers Cui and Shin delivered great GB3 qualifying performances on Saturday morning, with the former setting the sixth fastest time in the first session, just 0.2 seconds shy of the round 13 front row, and then an improved fifth quickest in session two.
Shin had to settle for 10th on the grid for race one, only two tenths shy of his new team-mate, but he made it an all-Hillspeed third row for round 14 during the second run, just a couple of hundredths of a second off Cui’s pace. The evenly matched pairing were within just 0.4 seconds of pole.
They each made good starts to race one, Cui holding sixth through Copse with Shin right behind after a clear run into the first corner. Both were in the thick of the action on lap one to end the opening tour eighth and 10th respectively. Cui lapped impressively, his best time just 0.3 seconds shy of the fastest of all, and he ultimately finished seventh in his first race in Hillspeed colours.
Shin’s hopes of similar were impacted on lap two when some robust multi-car battling dropped him down to 15th place. He fought back well though, climbing into the top 12 neatly and taking one more place on the 11th and final tour to finish the contest just half a second shy of the top 10.
Sunday morning’s round 14 began with an even start from the third row for Cui and Shin – the latter’s best ever start in GB3. With nothing to choose through the first few corners, as they headed out of Stowe into the Vale left hander, Shin produced a smart switchback to slice past into fifth.
Following a one-lap Safety Car period on the fourth tour, Shin held fifth as Cui came under pressure and the latter found himself offline at Abbey and therefore shuffled back to the tail of the top 10. On lap seven the top two collided, opening the door for Shin to climb into third which he maintained despite big pressure to claim his very well deserved first GB3 podium. Cui, meanwhile, raced back up to eighth.
Round 15 began with Shin and Cui sharing row four of the grid. They ended lap one eighth and ninth, with Cui having got ahead of the sister car, and the action around the top 10 was tight throughout the 12 lap duration. Shin climbed as high as seventh, but ended in ninth place, while Cui ultimately finished 11th.
Leandro Juncos:
“Silverstone, back to back podiums, is really important for me. We haven’t had the most luck this year, we’ve always had the pace but never a good solid weekend, so to get that result here is very important for me. I think Brands Hatch is really going to suit us, it’s a track where you really have to hustle so I think it will favour us – me as a driver and us as a car.”
Michael Shin:
“It makes the podium even more special – my first podium here in a guest race back [in GB3] and at the track I struggled on the last time I was here. It’s a boost in confidence and makes me really happy. This car is a step-up from 2023, there was a bit of adjusting but the team has helped me and supported me in the right places and I was able to deliver.”
Richard Ollerenshaw – Hillspeed Team Principal:
“It’s fantastic to see Leandro get back-to-back podiums, he raced so well this weekend and is getting better and better as a driver – that first win can’t be far away for him. Dan’s qualifying was massively compromised by a component worth less than £2, but he drove exceptionally well in the races. Huge credit to the team to do the pit stops in the last race so quickly, we really did turn the weekend around.
“It was quite exceptional in GB3, Michael on the podium for the first time was great and both drivers were strong from the start. Yuanpu did a very good job on his first weekend with the team, he’s been quick throughout and was fast in qualifying – only a few tenths in it. There is a lot more to come from him, the talent is there. Now, for the next round at Brands, we welcome back Kanato [Le], Hiyu [Yamakoshi] and Fred [Slater] with testing on Wednesday – so a quick turnaround for the team!”
Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent hosts rounds 16, 17 and 18 of both the GB3 Championship and GB4 Championship seasons over the weekend 23rd/24th August.
GB4 Championship Driver Standings (after Rd15)
1st Daniel Guinchard, 293pts; 7th Leandro Juncos, 190pts
GB4 Championship Team Standings (after Rd15)
2nd Hillspeed, 483pts
GB3 Championship Driver Standings (after Rd15)
12th Freddie Slater, 130pts (from six rounds); 13th Yuanpu Cui, 122pts; 15th Kanato Le, 119pts (from six rounds); 18th Hiyu Yamakoshi, 71pts (from six rounds); 22nd Michael Shin, 40pts (from three rounds)
GB3 Championship Team Standings (after Rd15)
6th Hillspeed, 347pts (from nine rounds)
